I'm planning a 2 week trip to Ireland in June 2009. After reviewing various resources I've drafted the following itinerary. I'd appreciate comments re time spent in various locales (too much, too little) and lodging recommendations. We're trying to stay 2-3 nights in most places, if possible, and would prefer to be within walking distance of whatever village we're staying in. We also want to make sure we have time for relaxing, possibly horseback riding, definitely shopping, etc.

Day 1 - Arrive Shannon, drive to Kenmare (3 nights Riverville House).

Days 2 & 3 - One day exploring Beara Peninsula, one day exploring Killarney Lakes and environs.

Day 4-6 - Drive to Dingle, explore Dingle (2/3 nights Emlagh Lodge).

Day 7 - Drive to Ballyvaughn, Kinvara (1 night)? Unsure what town to stay in here. See Cliffs of Moher, Burren, got to Dugnaire Castle Medieval Banquet. If weather doesn't cooperate for seeing Cliffs of Moher, how realistic is it to return from Clifden if the weather improves?

Day 8 - Drive to Clifden (3 nights The Quay House). Spend one day in Galway City, visit Williamstown (non-negotiable - my grandfather was from here), do the Sky Drive. Connemara NP, Klyemore Abbey (or is it possible/practicable to do from Westport?)

Day 11 - To Westport (2 nights, Boulevard Guesthouse). Connemara NP, Kylemore Abbey enroute to Westport (but maybe cover on days 8-10). Enjoy Westport, possibly Achill Island, Ballintober Abbey.

Day 13 - To St. John's Point, Donegal (2/3 nights, Castle Murray House - I realize it's not within walking distance of any villages). See Keats' grave enroute, possibly Belleek pottery. While in Donegal want to see: Slieve Cliffs, Glenveagh Natl. Park, Glebe Houe, visit Donegal Town, Killybegs, Ardara. Is this doable? Is it feasible to base ourselves for 3 nights at Castle Murray House, or better to stay 2 nights at Castle Murray House and then 1 night in Ramelton? Am I planning on too much for the time we'll be there?

I'd appreciate any guidance you can give me. Thanks.

Do not miss the Belleek Pottery showroom at the factory. We had such fun looking at everything. They had one small vase made special for that year and you could only buy it at their showroom.
There were many bargains.

We could have had things shipped home and not paid the vat tax which is what we should have done. I had the correct receipts from Belleek and filled out the papers and followed the instructions and never heard from or received any vat tax refund.

We stayed at a b&b not far down the road from Dunquaire Castle. The dinner at the castle was great. You will enjoy that.

Your itinerary is wonderful. Couple of things: don't backtrack from Clifden to the Cliffs of Moher. The coast of Mayo has beautiful cliffs and of course there's Slieve League...amazing cliffs.

We loved Glenveagh and Glebe House. I wished we'd spent time in Killybegs- very scenic.

Our favorite is Westport and we especially loved a visit to Clare Island. I liked that more than Achill because you take a boat, there are almost no cars on the island. And the walks are lovely. The cliffs on Clare were stunning too!

If you're a hiker and especially a Catholic hiker the crawl up Croagh Patrick is something. Even partway up the views are beautiful.

We spent a week in Kenmare and enjoyed that part of Ireland too. But we loved Westport and Donegal the best.

be sure to drive healy pass/beara pen.

seems to me that Williamstown would be closer to visit from westport (much closer)...maybe do 2 clifden/3 westport (I would skip time in Galway and enjoy connemara...drive south along coast from clifden out to roundstone)

the drive past kylemore around the fjord thru doo lough valley is a must and you will pass by croagh patrick...easy/quick hike up a bit past the gift shop to st. patrick's statue and nice view

as far as donegal...it depends on where you are headed after...if going south, stay south...if heading towards derry or giant's causeway, stay the a night in northern part of donegal

the drive thru killybegs out to Glencolmcille is pretty (we were told views of slieve league would be foggy that day)

glenveagh is beautiful...I would plan the better part of a day there...get tickets and see castle early because they limit number of people on each timed tour (we were able to drive coast from glencolmcille then inland to glenveagh in a day...we stayed just north of letterkenny because we were touring derry/giant's causeway from there also)

you are going to love castle murray house and the dinner there is fabulous...everything there is fabulous!!

sounds like a great trip!

The itinerary sounds like great fun. I have been to Ireland several times; however, did not spend much time in the south. I agree with previous post in bypassing staying in Galway. Ashford Castle is something to see; however, when I was there in 2006 you were not allowed into the castle if you were not staying there. The grounds are beautiful though. Donegal is my favorite. Slieve League should be on everyone's itinerary! They were magnificent. Just a word of caution, there were no boundries to prevent a slip and fall into the abyss when I was there. If you can get to the Cliffs of Moher, they are also something to be seen. Slieve is wonderful but different. Cliffs of Moher are green and like a meadow dropping off into the sea. Slieve is rocky and more mountainous. Cliffs are spectacular at sunset! But "RoseTravels" is correct in that there are spectacular cliffs all along the coast.

There is a good pub across from W.B. Yeat's grave in Drumcliffe(Davis' pub). Good food and wonderful people.

Westport is another favorite. Foxford Wooleries is nearby and a great place for wool blankets/throws. It is between Westport and Sligo. A bit less expensive than Blarney Woolen Mills.

Here's a great site for the Mayo part of your trip. Great folks here!

http://www.castlebar.ie/

I'm just jealous. I'd so love to be back in Mayo for a bit....loved that area of Ireland.

As Chip mentioned try to dine at least one evening at Castle Murray.
I can still remember the beautiful dinner, view and sunset.

I agree with the others to skip Galway. There are better sites and towns beyond and time is short.

One road in Donegal was really memorable - Glengesh Pass north of Killybegs on the way to Ardara. Incredible valley. There was another remote road we took from Ardara towards Glenveagh with sheep sleeping on the road. It was lined with abandoned stone cottages - everyone had been evicted in the famine. We stopped and explored.

Many thanks for sharing your favorite drives/places to see --

Bratsandbeer: we'll definitely have things shipped home from Belleek,

Rosetravels: won't backtrack to Cliffs of Moher if weather is bad when we're there,

Chip: will visit Williamstown from Westport instead of Galway, and will use Castle Murray House as a base for our entire stay in Donegal since we're heading back to Shannon afterwards,

Catherinehaas: Ashford Castle looks spectacular, but unfortunately is a little out of our price range.

I just have a couple more questions, and then I should be all set....

My boyfriend recently mentioned that he'd really like to see the Royal Cork Yacht Club (he is a sailor) -- talk about throwing a wrench in the works! But I discovered that the yachts in the Volvo Around the World Ocean Race will be stopping in Galway at the end of May/ beginning of June, and he is happy to substitute that for the Royal Cork Yacht Club. So, while I had initially taken Chip's suggestion to spend 2 nights in Clifden and 3 in Westport, now I'm leaning towards staying in Oughterard instead of Clifden, and use it as a base for seeing the Connemara/Sky Drive/Galway. The idea was that we'd be able to take the bus into Galway, but I've checked the bus schedule, and there seem to be limited runs between them. Has anyone taken the bus between Oughterard/Galway? Is it convenient?

Is there another village you would recommend using as a base both for exploring Connemara and getting into Galway on the bus?

Also, has anyone flown from Donegal to Shannon? I haven't been able to find information on this (re cost and frequency of flights). We'll probably end up driving, but thought I'd check into it as an option.

Thanks for bearing with me.

Just returned from Ireland on 9/21 (trip report almost ready to be posted - I promise!) I'd quibble with you about the Cliffs of Moher if the weather's not good. I was there in 1990 with friends in gorgeous weather, and now I've been there this year in MISERABLE weather - and loved it both times! This year, we still stayed outside most of an hour in the blowing, cold rain - finally did retreat to the visitor's center, which is actually quite nice on a lousy day. (lots of people enjoying hot soup in the cafeteria and looking quite happy.)
One of the laughable items was that they're discovered that (especially on such a lousy weather day) the waves off the Cliffs are among the largest in the world, and they've got little jetski's way, way down there in the water, with a dozen or more people in wetsuits waiting for their turn to try surfing towards the Cliffs! It's an absolute hoot to watch, and somehow makes you feel a bit dryer and warmer, knowing you're not straddling a surfboard for an hour or so waiting in the orderly queue.
We were by there the next day while our husbands played golf @ Lahinch - blue skies, no wind, therefore no surf, no skiers, and frankly - not as dynamite a view!
Enjoy your trip - ours was heavenly!
Jo Ann

Thanks Joann. You make a good case for the Cliffs of Moher, rain or shine! And since we don't know if/when we'll be back we will visit, regardless of the weather.

We just returned from 2 weeks in Ireland. The Quay House was our favorite place in which we stayed. Julia and Paddy are wonderful hosts. Two restaurants in Dingle that we enjoyed are Out of the Blue and The Global Village.

Looks good